Icetube clock instruction manual

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Re: Icetube clock instruction manual

Post by adafruit_support_bill »

Isopropyl and an old toothbrush are what I use.

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Re: Icetube clock instruction manual

Post by srdevil »

niznai wrote:One comment, the display board is too close to the right side and when the acrylic panel is put in place it hits the protruding terminals of the comb connector.
I'm having the same problem on the case. When I was soldering the Tube I tested it with the case so it was ok. But now the nuts are against the PCB of the Tube, and forcing the PCB/Tube downwards so its a littlebit under pressure. I'll make a photo tomorrow if niznai didn't post it yet (have to leave now).

I'm experiencing the same problem with the clock battery. It remembers the time but doesn't count any further. I've been posting photo's of the PCB all sides in my Topic as requested by the support.

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Re: Icetube clock instruction manual

Post by niznai »

Regarding the terminals touching on the side panel, there's no way around it, just file the terminals down about 1mm and you should get enough clearance.

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Re: Icetube clock instruction manual

Post by adafruit_support_bill »

Regarding the terminals touching on the side panel, there's no way around it,
We have sold thousands of these clocks and nobody has reported this problem before. Please post a photo.

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Re: Icetube clock instruction manual

Post by srdevil »

As shown on the first picture: If the tube fits the opposite hole, the hex nut is touched by the PCB. U can't see it but the hex nut will be forced to the right so tension is on the PCB/Tube and the Nut/case.

As shown on the second picture: When everything is tension free, the hex nut is touching the PCB and forcing the tube downwards quite a lot.

What Niznai has been fileing down I don't know, but maybe his connector is a littlebit longer or he didn't cut the wires very short.


EDIT: Turning around the Acryle bottom plate doesn't work because its not symetric and than it won't fit at all, so thats not the problem.
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Re: Icetube clock instruction manual

Post by niznai »

I think in these pictures the problem might be alleviated by leaving shorter leads for the tube. Tubes are not all the same exact length so some adjustment is needed there. One other thing is that I see your nut is pointing one of the apexes at the tube PCB. Perhaps if you turn it on the flat it will give some clearance. Which reminds me I used not the screws and nuts supplied in the kit, but my own metric (M3) clear acrylic nuts and screws. The M3 nuts are just a smidge smaller than the imperial size supplied, so I think that is why mine clear the PCB.

In my case however it wasn't the tube (I did a dry run before I soldered the tube to see how long its terminals should be), but the comb connector that plugs in the main board. Those terminals protruded too far through the tube PCB and pushed against the side panel when the tube was plugged in. Like I said, I didn't lose sleep over it, I just sanded down the protruding pins and achieved enough clearance to be happy.

I'll try to get some shots up, just bear it with me.

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Re: Icetube clock instruction manual

Post by adafruit_support_bill »

I think in these pictures the problem might be alleviated by leaving shorter leads for the tube
Correct. The tube should sit closer to the board.
Those terminals protruded too far through the tube PCB and pushed against the side panel when the tube was plugged in.
There is a step in the board assembly part of the tutorial: http://learn.adafruit.com/ice-tube-cloc ... d-assembly
Image
Clip the pins. Be careful and wear eye protection. The little pieces can fly off and hit you if you are not careful!

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Re: Icetube clock instruction manual

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Here's a shot of the tube wires on my clock for comparison
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Re: Icetube clock instruction manual

Post by srdevil »

I did put the case around the tube before I soldered it, so i was sure its ok. The point of the tube doesn't stitch out of the hole on the other side in the acryle case.

Turning the nut with the flat side to the PCB doesnt work because it has to be this way, if turned the acryle side panel doesnt fit. With the flat side to the PCB and the points of the nut upwards and downwards will make the nut to big to fit in the acryle gap.

EDIT: Indeed this one is much closer, but if my leads whould have been this short, the point of the tube would not reach the other side of the case. And its hard to see how the nut is here because the refractive index.

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Re: Icetube clock instruction manual

Post by adafruit_support_rick »

srdevil wrote:EDIT: Indeed this one is much closer, but if my leads whould have been this short, the point of the tube would not reach the other side of the case. And its hard to see how the nut is here because the refractive index.
Just the very tip of my tube is resting in the hole. I've got 1mm clearance on the nuts. But even if the nuts are touching the board, it's not a problem. The traces on the board are masked, and the nut isn't grounded anyway.

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Re: Icetube clock instruction manual

Post by niznai »

adafruit_support_bill wrote:
I think in these pictures the problem might be alleviated by leaving shorter leads for the tube
Correct. The tube should sit closer to the board.
Those terminals protruded too far through the tube PCB and pushed against the side panel when the tube was plugged in.
There is a step in the board assembly part of the tutorial: http://learn.adafruit.com/ice-tube-cloc ... d-assembly
Image
Clip the pins. Be careful and wear eye protection. The little pieces can fly off and hit you if you are not careful!
True, I have forgotten about that step. My pins didn't protrude that far though, just about 1/2mm over the top of the tin joints, that is why I had to file them down rather than cut them, didn't want to risk damaging the joints.

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Re: Icetube clock instruction manual

Post by adafruit_support_bill »

that is why I had to file them down rather than cut them
That probably makes for a cleaner looking build anyhow. :D

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Re: Icetube clock instruction manual

Post by niznai »

It does look neat.

I have managed to get some shots, now to trim and upload. Should be up here soon.

In the meantime, I tried the trick again after cleaning the boards of rosin residue and boy do they sparkle. Still, the clock doesn't keep time off mains power. Remembers last time before unplugging, just as before.

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Re: Icetube clock instruction manual

Post by adafruit_support_bill »

You could try jarchie's firmware. I was hoping jarchie would chime in here, since he's done a lot of work in this area. We haven't seen this symptom on any of the clocks we've had in-house, so we have not been able to diagnose it.

Since your build looks good, I'd suspect that it is some marginal component. If you contact [email protected] with a link to this thread, we can send you a replacement Ice-Tube processor.

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Re: Icetube clock instruction manual

Post by niznai »

Do you think there's anything wrong with the processor?

If it's software, the processor may not have anything to do with the problem, and any new processor programmed the same way might end up having the same problem.

The only annoying thing is that if I want to move the clock around the house it has to be reset every time. I'll look into getting a long lasting backup 9V battery see what I can come up with, but I would really hate to spoil the nice design by hooking some ugly square thing on the side of it or something. I'll see.

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